Oil rises amid concerns over supply disruptions

Oil prices rose on Wednesday amid concerns about potential disruptions to crude supplies from the Middle East, despite an increase in U.S. crude oil inventories.

Brent crude futures rose $1.10 to $90.01 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 71 cents, or 0.85%, to $83.91 per barrel.

Both benchmark crudes recorded gains of more than a dollar at Tuesday’s settlement, reaching their highest closing levels since July 31, continuing their rally after surging about 5% on Monday.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by approximately 9.1 million barrels in the week ending August 7, while gasoline inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels and distillate inventories declined by 596,000 barrels.